Air Tahiti Nui 7 now available for redemption with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan This, combined with the airline’s upcoming launch of a new route from Seattle, unlocks some exciting release opportunities.
Seattle is easily accessible to many Canadians, including the main airports in western Canada, as well as direct flights from Toronto and Montreal. Thus, this new route provides more convenient access for Canadians on their way to a dream vacation in Tahiti in the near future.
Meanwhile, the Alaska Mileage Plan has been expanding its partnership extensively in the recent past, and it’s great to see the addition of a remote partner airline, making it easier to access a remote, highly sought-after vacation destination. Unlike other recent additions, redemption costs are much more mandatory.
Let’s take a look at the details.
Alaska Airlines and Air Tahiti Nui Partnership
Note that as of April 1, 2022, Air Tahiti Nui and Alaska Airlines have entered into a formal partnership. This means that it is now possible to earn and redeem Alaska miles for travel on Air Tahiti Nui, and vice versa through Air Tahiti Nui’s Club Tiare Frequent Flyer Loyalty Program.
Bora Bora, located in Tahiti, is a destination at the top of many bucket lists, made much more accessible by Alaska Airlines and Air Tahiti Nui Link Up.
Air Tahiti Nui’s new Seattle route
A new route between Seattle and Puppet has added more interest to the Alaska Airlines and Air Tahiti Nui partnership.
From October 4, 2022, Air Tahiti will start service twice a week between Nui Papi and Seattle. The flight will last about nine and a half hours on both sides, and is scheduled to operate on the following schedule:
- TN52 Papeete (PPT) to Seattle (SEA), departs at 10 pm and arrives at 10:25 am the next day
- TN51 Seattle (SEA) to Papeete (PPT), departs at 12:40 pm and arrives at 7:30 pm
Flights will leave Papeete on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and flights will leave Seattle on Wednesdays and Sundays.
The route will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft with 30 lie-flat business class seats, 32 premium economy seats and 232 economy seats. The business class cabin is in a 2-2-2 formation across five rows.
With the exception of Seattle, Air Tahiti Nui’s only North American destination is Los Angeles, which is served daily.
Reaching this part of the world can be difficult, so it’s great to see another option very easily accessible by Canadians. There are direct flights from Seattle to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal with Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, or WestJet at various points throughout the year.
Book Air Tahiti Nui with Alaska Mileage Plan
To make it even better, the route, as well as all other routes served by Air Tahiti Bui, can now be booked using Alaska Miles.
Alaska Airlines has loaded Air Tahiti Nui in search of its rewards, and has also released rewards charts for flights to its various destinations.
Air Tahiti Nui’s network is fairly limited compared to most airlines. From its hub in Tahiti, the airline flies to Auckland, Tokyo, Seattle, Los Angeles and Paris (as the fifth-independence flight from Los Angeles).
Despite Air Tahiti Nui’s limited network, it’s exciting to watch Too Reasonable price for rewards on the airline. Since joining OneWorld, Alaska Airlines has added multiple redemption partners at a lower price than the standard award; Fortunately, this is not the case with Air Tahiti Nui.
From North America to the South Pacific (including Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand and other islands in the region), business class prize bookings begin 60,000 miles, When the flight starts in premium economy 45,000 miles. Flying out prices in the economy 30,000 miles.
The cost for the fifth Independence flight from Los Angeles to Paris is the same:
If you want to travel a long way from North America to Japan via the South Pacific Ocean, you can pay double to go directly to Tahiti. Keep in mind that it would be a better deal for Japan Airlines or Cathay to unload Alaska miles from Pacific North America to Asia.
The price of flying from Tahiti to Asia is out 35,000 miles In economics, 50,000 miles In the premium economy, and 70,000 miles In business class. In this case, it would be better to use the American AAdvantage Mile, which charges only 40,000 miles for the same ride in business class.
Meanwhile, Air Tahiti Noi flies from Tahiti to Europe at the same cost as flights from North America to Asia.
The best sweet spot is flying between North America and the South Pacific Ocean, which offers an excellent opportunity to reach one of the world’s hardest-to-reach at a prize redemption.
For example, the price of a flight from North America to Auckland via Puppet 40,000 miles In economy class, 60,000 miles In the premium economy, and 80,000 miles In business class.
Compared to other recent partners, such as Iberia and Royal Air Maroc, these prices are much more reasonable. Indeed, given the remote, ambitious location, it can present an excellent value.
In addition, you can add one Stopover in Tahiti at no extra cost, Which is a significant advantage for using the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
If you’re able to find space (which can be a bit tricky), it’s a very compelling option to combine two ambitious trips into one.
Is Booking Air Tahiti Nui a good deal with Alaska Airlines?
The first thing to consider is that accessing points in Tahiti can be challenging. There are only a handful of airlines that fly to Papu’s, and an even smaller proportion of them are available for release.
Air France has a fifth-independence flight from Los Angeles to Papi, which can be booked for 64,000 Flying Blue Miles, the equivalent of 85,333 American Express membership prize points.
Flying 60,000 miles from Los Angeles or Seattle to Papua is a relatively good deal, with caution that Alaska miles are relatively more difficult for Canadians.
It is also possible to book Air Tahiti Nui with American Airlines AAdvantage Miles. Cost of one way flight in business class 80,000A Advantage miles.
For Canadians, AAdvantage miles are not easy either. In addition to doubling US credit cards, AAdvantage is a transfer partner from RBC Avion at a sub-optimal ratio of 10: 7. Again, the mileage plan of Alaska Airlines is the winner for booking Air Tahiti Nui.
Moreover, in sin-Auckland flight opens a mandatory way to enter New Zealand.
Finding a business class award space in New Zealand at a reasonable cost can be really difficult.
By using Airplane Points, you’ll either be at the mercy of dynamic pricing on Air Canada flights (unless you find a place at the bottom of the dynamic spectrum or e-upgrade space), or you’ll have to take longer via the Middle East, Asia and / or Australia. Even then, the cost price would be 105,000 airplane points.
Having said that, airplane points are comparatively much easier than Alaska miles in Canada, so that’s another thing to keep in mind.
Finally, there is a respectable mention of the fifth-independence flight from Los Angeles to Paris. Having another option to get an exciting-competitive seat across the Atlantic is always a boon, and although this flight will not be a game changer for everyone, it presents a difficult option in the absence of other flights.
With OneWorld, British Airways has the most rewarding places, but the worst carrier-imposed surcharges. Air Tahiti Nui’s flight from Los Angeles to Paris offers a solid alternative, priced at 60,000 Alaska miles and very little US $ 19 in taxes and fees.
On a westward day trip, having a premium economy available without business class space can be an excellent fallback option.
Of course, instead you can book Japan Airlines First Class or Cathay Pacific First Class and get significantly higher prices from Alaska Airlines’ mileage plans, but Air Tahiti Nui still offers good prices for transatlantic trips.
Conclusion
Air Tahiti has announced a new direct flight between Nui Puppet and Seattle, starting October 4, 2022. The route is the airline’s second North American destination, quite easily accessible by Canadians.
In addition, Alaska Airlines’ mileage plan has now added Air Tahiti Nui as a redemption partner. Redemption rates offer great value when accessing the South Pacific, New Zealand, and even France from North America, so this is another way to consider when redeeming your hard-earned Alaska miles for some ambitious travel.
